# Computing education: computational thinking, functional programming and technology acceptance

Research synthesis · Computing education
Canonical page: https://www.narasimharao.net/research/focus-areas/computing-education-technology-acceptance/
Author: Narasimha Rao Vajjhala, Professor and Chair of Computer Science, American University in Bulgaria (ORCID 0000-0002-8260-2392)
Updated: 2026-09-25

> Vajjhala and colleagues study how computing is taught and accepted — functional programming with Haskell, computational thinking across disciplines, blockchain within cybersecurity curricula, and student acceptance of mandatory learning technology.

## Synthesis

Narasimha Rao Vajjhala’s computing education research asks how programming, computational thinking and security should be taught, and how students accept the technologies used to teach them.

On programming, [Fonkam and Vajjhala (2026)](https://www.narasimharao.net/research/functional-programming-haskell-software-education-review/) systematically reviewed 28 empirical studies published between 2015 and 2025 on functional programming taught with Haskell. They found mixed but promising outcomes: integrated approaches that combine functional programming with broader programming principles outperformed purely functional courses, benefits for mathematical reasoning and abstract thinking were consistent, and transfer to mainstream object-oriented languages was selective. Beyond programming, Fonkam and Vajjhala edited a volume that reframes computational thinking, logic and problem solving as discipline-independent skills and offers lesson plans, case studies and tools for embedding them in subjects ranging from educational robotics to digital marketing and literature ([Fonkam & Vajjhala, 2024](https://www.narasimharao.net/research/revolutionizing-curricula-computational-thinking-logic-problem-solving/)).

On security education, [Strang et al. (2020a)](https://www.narasimharao.net/research/teaching-blockchain-cybersecurity-management-computer-science/) found only five peer-reviewed papers on teaching blockchain in higher education, contrasted its treatment as a managerial decision topic for business students with application design and programming for computing students, and proposed a two-dimensional teaching typology spanning stakeholder role and teaching ideology.

On acceptance, [Strang and Vajjhala (2017)](https://www.narasimharao.net/research/student-resistance-mandatory-lms-tam3-supply-chain/) studied 65 senior supply chain students required to use a new learning management system. Perceived usefulness, enjoyment, voluntariness and results demonstrability explained 52.3% of behavioral intention, and behavioral intention predicted students’ actual course grades — evidence that Technology Acceptance Model 3 predicts performance, not only self-reported intention. Related consumer studies found that satisfaction and happiness predicted young Indian consumers’ online purchase intention ([Vajjhala & Strang, 2018a](https://www.narasimharao.net/research/online-purchase-intention-young-consumers-india/)), and that trust — not gender, age or income — predicted young US and Indian consumers’ online smartphone purchase decisions ([Vajjhala & Strang, 2019](https://www.narasimharao.net/research/psycho-demographic-factors-smartphone-online-purchase-decisions/)).

Together these studies support teaching programming paradigms in an integrated way, treating computational thinking as a cross-disciplinary literacy, teaching security to both technical and managerial audiences, and attending to how students experience the platforms they are required to use.

## Key claims with sources

1. Functional programming taught with Haskell brings consistent benefits for mathematical reasoning and abstract thinking, with selective transfer to object-oriented languages ([Fonkam & Vajjhala, 2026](https://www.narasimharao.net/research/functional-programming-haskell-software-education-review/)).
2. Among students required to use a new learning management system, behavioral intention predicted actual course grade ([Strang & Vajjhala, 2017](https://www.narasimharao.net/research/student-resistance-mandatory-lms-tam3-supply-chain/)).
3. Blockchain can be taught along two dimensions — stakeholder role and teaching ideology ([Strang et al., 2020a](https://www.narasimharao.net/research/teaching-blockchain-cybersecurity-management-computer-science/)).

## References

- Fonkam, M. M., & Vajjhala, N. R. (Eds.). (2024). Revolutionizing Curricula Through Computational Thinking, Logic, and Problem Solving. IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-1974-1 — summary and key findings: https://www.narasimharao.net/research/revolutionizing-curricula-computational-thinking-logic-problem-solving/
- Fonkam, M., & Vajjhala, N. R. (2026). A Spotlight on the Role of Functional Programming & Haskell in Computing & Software Development. In H. R. Arabnia (Ed.), Computational Science and Computational Intelligence (CSCE 2025) (pp. 56–63). Springer Nature Switzerland AG. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-22202-2_5 — summary and key findings: https://www.narasimharao.net/research/functional-programming-haskell-software-education-review/
- Strang, K. D., & Vajjhala, N. R. (2017). Student Resistance to a Mandatory Learning Management System in Online Supply Chain Courses. Journal of Organizational and End User Computing, 29(3), 49–67. https://doi.org/10.4018/JOEUC.2017070103 — summary and key findings: https://www.narasimharao.net/research/student-resistance-mandatory-lms-tam3-supply-chain/
- Strang, K. D., Che, F., & Vajjhala, N. R. (2020a). Ideologies and Issues for Teaching Blockchain Cybersecurity in Management and Computer Science. In K. Daimi, G. Francia III (Eds.), Innovations in Cybersecurity Education (pp. 109–126). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50244-7_7 — summary and key findings: https://www.narasimharao.net/research/teaching-blockchain-cybersecurity-management-computer-science/
- Vajjhala, N. R., & Strang, K. D. (2018a). Examining Internet Behavior of Young Technology-Literate Consumers in India. In Twenty-fourth Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS 2018), New Orleans. Association for Information Systems. https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2018/ — summary and key findings: https://www.narasimharao.net/research/online-purchase-intention-young-consumers-india/
- Vajjhala, N. R., & Strang, K. D. (2019). Impact of Psycho-Demographic Factors on Smartphone Purchase Decisions. In Proceedings of the 2019 International Conference on Information System and System Management (ISSM 2019), Rabat, Morocco (pp. 5–10). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3394788.3394790 — summary and key findings: https://www.narasimharao.net/research/psycho-demographic-factors-smartphone-online-purchase-decisions/